Manchester United’s disappointing 2-1 loss to debutants Istanbul Basaksehir denied English teams another flawless outing in the Champions League.
After impressive wins against PSG and RB Leipzig on matchdays 1 and 2 respectively, many were hoping to see United seal their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League tonight, but Ole Gunnar Solakjear’s men disappointed and that has led to fresh calls for the sacking of the coach.
At the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu, it was former Chelsea star Demba Ba that got the opening goal in the 13th and in the 40th minute Edin Visca made it 2-0 before Anthony Martial reduced the deficit three minutes after.
Hard as the Red Devils tried, they could not salvage anything against the Turkish champions.
As revealed by Opta Stats, Wednesday’s result effectively ended Manchester United’s longest away winning run in all competitions in their history (10 straight wins).
This is also their first away defeat in 19 matches since losing in January at Liverpool in the Premier League.
In the other Group H tie, RB Leipzig came from behind to beat PSG 2-1
At Stamford Bridge, it was a completely different scenario as Chelsea romped to a 3-0 win over French side Rennes.
Timo Werner scored twice before Tammy Abraham sealed the victory for the Blues with his 50th minute goal.
Abraham is the first player to score in three consecutive Champions League starts for Chelsea since Willian in 2015.
3 – Tammy Abraham is the first player to score in three consecutive Champions League starts for Chelsea since Willian in 2015, and the first Englishman to do so since Frank Lampard in 2008. Magic. pic.twitter.com/oXhzTUvm9d
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 4, 2020
In the other Group E tie, Sevilla showed character to come from two goals down to beat Russian side FC Krasnodar 3-2.
At Camp Nou, Lionel Messi scored from the penalty spot as Barcelona squeezed a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv.
1 – Lionel Messi's goal was his first against Dynamo Kiev since December 2009, with this being his longest gap between goals against the same opponent in the Champions League (3983 days). Bide. pic.twitter.com/paEgHcXP9g
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 4, 2020
Though Cristiano Ronaldo fired blanks, Juventus still recorded a 4-1 win over Ferencvaros to keep their chances of progress to the knockout phase in order.
Action will switch to the Europa League on Thursday with a handful of Nigerian players expected to be in action.
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